Sen. Barack Obama said Sunday that Michigan and Florida delegates should get a full vote.

(CNN) - Sen. Barack Obama said Sunday that the delegates from Florida and Michigan should get a “full vote” at the Democratic convention this month.

“I believe party unity calls for the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be able to participate fully alongside the delegates from the other states and territories,” he said in a letter to the co-chairs of the Democratic National Convention’s Credentials Committee.

Obama asked the committee to pass a resolution when it meets on August 24 to give each delegate a full vote.

Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates as a penalty for holding their primaries too early. During the primary season, there were growing calls to seat the delegations as Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton were locked in a tight race for their party’s nomination. Obama and Clinton were about 100 delegates apart in March, and Florida and Michigan's cache of 366 delegates had the potential to shake up the race.

The battle over the states’ delegates became a key issue on the campaign trail. Clinton had long advocated for seating both states’ delegations. She won both primaries, but the Democratic candidates had agreed to not campaign in the two states and she was the only top-tier candidate on the ballot in Michigan.

Clinton’s message that “every vote should count” became a key theme in her stump speeches. She accused Obama of being "un-American" for not backing plans to hold a revote in the two states.

The Illinois senator denied claims that he was standing in the way of revotes.

"I want the Michigan delegation and the Florida delegation to be seated. And however the Democratic National Committee determines we can get that done, I'm happy to abide by those rules," he told CNN in March.

After months of wrangling over what to do, the DNC’s rules and bylaws committee voted in late May to reinstate all of Florida and Michigan's delegates, with each getting a half-vote.

Ahhhh....Chicago Politics.....The youth of our country deserve better than this....Hillary, you should have stayed in.....

Disenfranchised? Check out the Nader/Gonzales ticket....become enlightened. You DON'T NEED TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!!

August 3, 2008 06:41 pm at 6:41 pm |

Arizona Demo

Wasn't there a saying, about, fooling some of the people all of time , all of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time. Enough said. Still haven't convinced me to vote Democratic this year and I have been a Democrat for 41 years, never voting for Republican. Probably won't vote this year.

August 3, 2008 06:41 pm at 6:41 pm |

JC

So now that their votes don't mean anything, he wants them counted. When he lost both of those states, he fought to ignore both results because he still needed the lead to convince superdelegates to vote for hi.. Does he think people are that stupid? I don't understand why he even brought this subject up – it can probably only hurt him. Yup....no old politics by this campaign.

August 3, 2008 06:41 pm at 6:41 pm |

Bruce

The more I think about it, I'll write in HILLARY CLINTON in NOVEMBER!!! She was and will always be MY CHOICE for PRESIDENT!!!

August 3, 2008 06:41 pm at 6:41 pm |

E.C.Coleman

THIS IS NOT WHAT OBAMA WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE........What a LOSER he is!!! Doesn't matter what he wants BECAUSE he's not going to win.

August 3, 2008 06:42 pm at 6:42 pm |

Avembe

i have the feeling the guy 's may be loosing ...his bearings????

August 3, 2008 06:43 pm at 6:43 pm |

Nick

I think you all are reading it wrong. The point was that the votes in Michigan and Florida should not have impacted the final decision because they broke the rules. By deciding to do so anyway, the states lost their say. I remember back in the Spring the Obama campaign was saying they don't mind the states counting as long as they don't impact the final decision made by the states who followed the rules. The fact that the states "didn't count" affected the way voters voted, in the same way that those states counting would have affected the way voters voted.

By breaking the rules, they deserved to go to the end of the line and wait their turn, just like cheaters who cut in line should. Now they can be served.

August 3, 2008 06:43 pm at 6:43 pm |

Rose

Now it is okay to give those two states full vote. He was the one that objected to it during the primary, rules were rules and they should still apply, if the DNC approves this, they will be shooting themselves in the foot. This move will anger a lot of voters and it should anger Hillary Clinton. Is this the "Change you can believe in" that he boasts about. He changes his stanch almost daily. He will do anything to win this election but voters are not stupid.

August 3, 2008 06:43 pm at 6:43 pm |

Robert New York City & Miami, Florida

This Obama is something else! Now he wants all of the delegates seated.

This guy is worse than BUsh.

August 3, 2008 06:43 pm at 6:43 pm |

Lynn, FL

CNN, where is my previous comment on this article? There were no comments posted when I submitted a comment. Now 23 show up with people responding to each others comments and mine is nowhere to be found. I didn't say anything rude or objectionable like so many people who spew hatred in these things. What's up?

The only change Obama seems to be for these days is changing his own mind on his previous positions. He lacks experience and it shows increasingly.

McCain doesn't appeal to me, but I would rather vote for the lesser of two evils than stay home and not exercise my right to vote. At least with McCain there is more of a track record to see that he is able to work across party lines to get things done and we need that right now.

August 3, 2008 06:44 pm at 6:44 pm |

Tim, Illinois Former Republican. Post This!

SOMEBODY TELL ME WHERE THE HATE COMES FROM?

PLEASE ANYBODY! I'M BEGGING FOR THE ANSWER!

I SWITCHED TO DEMOCRAT!! FOR GOODNESS SAKES!!

IF HILLARY WAS THE NOMINEE FINE! WOULDN'T HILLARY HAVE TO REACH OUT TO BARACK'S VOTERS AS WELL!!

FACE IT!! THEY NEED EACH OTHER FOR THE BEST CHANCE TO WIN!!!

WE NEED EACH OTHER TO WIN!!!

August 3, 2008 06:45 pm at 6:45 pm |

paul, nyc ny

I CAN NOW SAY WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA. He disgusts me. I was a supporter of Hillary Clinton and felt that all the primaries should get a say in the nomination process. Hillary fought long and hard for it and the Obama camp fought back and stalled the whole process so that the cache that would have gone to Hillary and possibly given her the vote would never get to her.

Now, like with so much more, Barack Obama has changed his mind again becuase it suits his purpose! You are disgusting, a hypocrite, a liar and above all, an egomaniac.

I will give my vote to McCain. And I hope those who supported Hillary do the same.

August 3, 2008 06:45 pm at 6:45 pm |

Marty Pacino Chicago Il

Barack Hussein Obama is the biggest fraud to ever enter the presidential election. Now that he is being exposed for his true colors I highly doubt he can win more than 5 electoral states. As the great Chicago Sox anouncer "Hawk: says "Republicans... You can put it on the board............... Yessss! 1980 Regan type landslide coming.

"I didn't leave the Democratic Party... The Democratic Party left me!"

August 3, 2008 06:46 pm at 6:46 pm |

AA

You keyboard warriors are retarded. Learn to read will ya?

Obama did not break the rules. Obama did not, and does not make DNC decisions - he abided by them.

HRC chose to run in two states knowing that they did not count because of the rules of the party. And then complained that they should be counted. She knew better, and used it as a wedge point to split up the party so much that you are still talking about it.

And now that her mistakes (and those of the two states) have cost her the nomination, the rest of the world moves on.

Facts and history cannot be picked and chosen from to suit your needs, wants or beliefs.

It is sad that your candidate did not win, my condolences. It is not Obamas fault, so grow up and get over it.

Peace.

August 3, 2008 06:47 pm at 6:47 pm |

Charlotte

Does that mean they can vote for Hillary after all? I think Obama is way too full of himself. This from the man who fought against a re-vote when it would have mattered. I hope everyone at the convention wakes up and cast their vote for Hillary Clinton. This convention might be worth watching after all. I cannot believe this man has made it this far. I will write Hillary on my ballot in November.

August 3, 2008 06:48 pm at 6:48 pm |

Jack

While I admit Obama looks a bit cheap saying this now, 2 things should be noted:

1) As the article points out, he was for seating them even back then.
and more importantly
2) Anyone claiming Hillary would have won back in March should remember the fact that she was deceitful and corrupt in her handling of those two state primaries. Period.

August 3, 2008 06:48 pm at 6:48 pm |

pa

you have guts obama
after all it was you who said no to that
are you FLIP_FLOPPING again?

August 3, 2008 06:49 pm at 6:49 pm |

Kat, Huntington, West Virginia

Are you kidding ME?! This is the kind of crap we all knew would happen but this combined with the offshore drilling flip flop, the change in the Iraq war pull-out makes it even more clear that yet again the democratic party made the WRONG CHOICE!!!!! Spin, Spin, Spin. Obama is a joke and so are his groupies. Vote Green!

August 3, 2008 06:50 pm at 6:50 pm |

chubby

First he was against and now he is for full votes for michigan and florida. Then he was against drilling and now he is for it. He has more flip flops than john kerry dreamed of.I did not realize the change he was talking about was his change of mind at any price to get votes. Is this the best the democrats can put up for november.

August 3, 2008 06:50 pm at 6:50 pm |

R

Yes you probably will get my vote Obama, but I KNEW you were the same old politics. Now that I can't vote for Hillary you want the votes to be counted fully? My vote to you is purely to get a democrat as president. NOTHING ELSE! I can't stand this guy.

August 3, 2008 06:50 pm at 6:50 pm |

Dan, TX

I think everyone misses the point. There are lots of votes that have nothing to do with who the nominee is going to be, but a lot to do with the party platform. In that case, MI and FL should have a full vote for items in the party platform.